Pay hikes in India have been among the best in the Asia-Pacific region in the last three years.
According to figures compiled by Mercer Human Resource Consulting, Indian salaries have risen by an average 9.3 per cent a year since 2001-02. While India Inc gave salary hikes of 10 per cent in 2001-02 and 2002-03, the rise is estimated to be 8 per cent for 2003-04.
This is substantially higher than the average annual hikes of 4.13 per cent in Australia, 2.53 per cent in Hong Kong, 2.6 per cent in Japan, 3.43 per cent in Singapore, 8.23 per cent in China and 6.06 per cent in Thailand in the period.
Only Indonesia and the Philippines among the 14 Asia-Pacific countries saw increments higher than India at 16.03 per cent and 10.96 per cent, respectively.
One of the reasons behind the higher increments in India is the relatively low base of compensation packages that Indians have vis-à-vis their counterparts.
After normalising for differences in the cost of living, net income in the country was found to be the lowest for top management, second lowest for middle management and third lowest in the executive level.
The total annual cash compensation for a functional head in India, adjusted for purchasing power parity, is $31,688, according to Mercer. This is the lowest among the 14 countries studied by Mercer.
Within the sample group, the highest compensation at this level -- $138,293 -- is paid in Hong Kong. The compensation of a functional head in Hong Kong is thus well over four times that of his Indian counterpart.
In middle management, the compensation of $15,620 paid in India is higher only than that in Vietnam, where the figure is $11,318. At the executive level, the Indian compensation at $6,220 is higher than that in Vietnam and Indonesia.
© 2025